Landon Donovan appears to be stuck in Major League Soccer until at least 2011. So says Paul Oberjuerge, laying out the details of Donovan's contract with the league. I was certainly unaware of the situation, and was under the impression that Landon's contract allowed him to leave after this season (2009). Not so, says Oberjuerge, as the league (and the Galaxy) have two club option years on the forward.

With Donovan's value set higher than most European clubs might be willing to pay, a move to Europe might not be in the cards after all.

Too bad, if that's the case.

Donovan is now 27, and his prime years are quickly slipping away. If he's unable to get out of MLS before his contract with the league finally ends, he may not have a chance to do so.

While Oberjuerge argues that Landon is the most marketable American face in the league, and therefore they are unlikely to let go of him, we all know that holding on to an unhappy player is counterproductive. Let's hope the league and the Galaxy realize that just because they can keep Donovan around doesn't mean they should.

It would be a disservice to both Donovan and American soccer to keep him here against his will. While I'm starting to come around on the idea that our good American players need to be playing in MLS, we can't hold back our most talented ones just because they make the league money. Until Major League Soccer is good enough and rich enough, a player like Donovan should be in Europe (if he wants to be, of course).